THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE DECLINING ENROLLMENT IN OHIO'S PROGRAMS FOR PARTIALLY SEEING CHILDREN AND THE PROBLEMS OF INCIDENCE, VISUAL FUNCTIONING, AND MULTIPLE HANDICAPS. PARTIALLY SEEING CHILDREN IDENTIFIED BY THE STUDY HAD A VISUAL ACUITY AFTER CORRECTION OF 20/70 OR LESS AND/OR CORRECTION OF MORE THAN 10 DIOPTERS OF MYOPIA. THE SCHOOL NURSES IN COLUMBUS PUBLIC SCHOOLS SCREENED THE 23,611 FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH GRADE CHILDREN FOR VISUAL ACUITY. OF THE 214 CHILDREN SUSPECTED OF BEING PARTIALLY SEEING, 168 RECEIVED PARENTAL APPROVAL FOR OPHTHALMOLOGICAL AND OPTOMETRIC EXAMINATIONS. THE 36 CHILDREN IDENTIFIED AS PARTIALLY SEEING RECEIVED PEDIATRIC, NEUROLOGICAL, ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS. OF THESE 36 CHILDREN, 25 WERE ALREADY IN CLASSES FOR PARTIALLY SEEING. FINDINGS SUGGEST AN INCIDENCE OF BETWEEN .15 AND .20 PERCENT. MANY OF THE PARTIALLY SEEING CHILDREN HAD ADDITIONAL PHYSICAL OR MENTAL IMPAIRMENTS. ONLY 17 PERCENT OF THE CHILDREN HAD REFRACTIVE ERRORS. THE MEAN AVERAGE IQ ON INDIVIDUAL INTELLIGENCE TESTS WAS AT THE LOW AVERAGE LEVEL. MEAN ACHIEVEMENT WAS BELOW GRADE LEVEL EXPECTANCY. RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAMS WHICH COMBINE LARGE TYPE AND BRAILLE STUDENTS, ELIMINATION OF THE 10 DIOPTERS OF MYOPIA AS A SOLE CRITERIA IN REFERRAL, AND EMPHASIS ON EARLY IDENTIFICATION AND REGISTRATION OF PARTIALLY SIGHTED CHILDREN. FUTURE RESEARCH WITH THE DIVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO STUDIES OF INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS AND THE CHILDREN'S NEEDS AND TO COMPARABLE STUDY IN A RURAL COMMUNITY AND A CITY LIKE COLUMBUS IN A STATE OTHER THAN OHIO. OTHER CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ARE LISTED. GRAPHS AND TABLES ARE INCLUDED. THE APPENDIX DISPLAYS STATE STANDARDS AND FORMS, TOGETHER WITH FORMS USED IN THE STUDY. THE CASE HISTORIES OF THE 36 PARTIALLY SEEING CHILDREN ARE PRESENTED IN TABULAR FORM. A LIST OF 18 REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (KH)

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